Volunteers and Destiny
by Stixer111
Summary: When Albion high requires their students to earn 100 service hours for their CVs, Merlin's friend Gwaine knows exactly where to volunteer, Camelot Medical Center. So it's all Gwaine's fault really, that Merlin is is dealing with irritating customers, batty patients, and a growing attraction to Arthur Pendragon, the son of Uther Pendragon, the Head of the Hospital. Mild swearing.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N- This fic was beta'd by my friend 213serendipity, who was kind enough to be my sounding board, partly because she has some awesome ideas and partly because Mrs. Hudson took my skull. Britpicked by desuke-dragonqueen (on tumblr)**_

**Chapter 1: First Impressions**

Merlin Emrys looked at the imposing figure of Camelot Medical Centre with growing apprehension. His mother became the volunteer coordinator at the establishment recently, so when it came time to earn service hours for his CV, his mother managed to get him a position at the hospital. He had somehow managed to snag a position helping old Mr. Gaius in the hospital gift shop. He took a minute to inspect his appearance in the mirror, straightened the collar of his frankly alarmingly bright red volunteer shirt and stepped through the automatic doors. The lobby was sparkling, its white walls and shining floors creating an impression of sterility and efficiency. He walked to the front desk, and filled out the sign in book. Then he turned to the slightly flustered lady behind the desk and said

"Excuse me, but can you point me in the direction of the gift shop?"

The woman looked up from the computer screen and said "Oh, are you the new volunteer? The gift shop is right down the hall. Will you be needing a meal pass? It allows you to buy an entrée, two sides and a drink. Coffee and Tea of course are free. The canteen is down the same hallway, make the first left and walk through the door on the right." She said this all rather quickly.

"Um, I suppose so" said Merlin slightly reeling from the sudden surge of information.

"Here you go dear" she said, handing him the brightly colored slip of paper. "Just write the number down next to your name."

Merlin smiled and did as he was told, then he headed off in the direction the woman pointed, and ran right into a tall, broad shouldered young man holding a wheelchair.

"Lance!" exclaimed Merlin.

Lancelot Dulac (Lance for short) was Merlin's best friend. The two of them had grown up together, and had gone to school together, so when Merlin got the application for Camelot Med, it was only natural that Lance did too.

"Watch where you're going Emrys" teased Lance good-naturedly.

"Oh shut up" replied Merlin, grinning

"How was the maths competition, wonder-boy?" asked Lance It was no secret that Merlin was a mathematical genius, and could do a multitude of complex equations in no time at all. He was the star of the Albion SecondarySchool maths team, and was often away on competitions. It was because of his last competition that Lance started volunteering a week before Merlin could.

"It was great, I got in first place"

"As if you would do any less. I hope you crushed those gits from Mercia?"

"Of course! They didn't stand a chance" replied Merlin "So what department are you in?" he asked

"Transport." Lance said, gesturing to the wheelchair "And some of the other guys are up there too."

"Really? Who else volunteers here?"

"Well, there's that kid, Elyan Thompson, and Percy and Gwaine, of course" said Lance counting the names on his fingers.

"Of course" said Merlin with a grin.

Gwaine was the reason they had even thought of volunteering in Camelot Med. He had come into class loudly stating that he had found the easiest way to earn his service hours, and apparently that meant working at the hospital. And where Gwaine went, so did Percival, the two being as inseparable as Merlin and Lance.

"You'd better get going, Mer" said Lance "You wouldn't want to be late on your first day"

Merlin nodded in agreement and set off down the hall with a parting wave. He poked his head into the gift shop, taking in all the items crammed into the store, from sweets and fizzy drinksto stuffed animals to sleepwear. There was no sign of Mr. Gaius.

"Hello?" he called out

"In the back," came a voice from the depths of the store.

Merlin crossed the tiny shop, into an even smaller back room. At the other end of the claustrophobic space, standing on the step stool, attempting to stack magazines on one of the shelves, was a rather old man with shoulder length silver hair.

"Um… excuse me, but are you Mr. Gaius?" asked Merlin

"Hm? Oh, yes, that would be me." said the old man absently.

"Yes, um, I'm the new shop volunteer, Merlin Emrys."

"Emrys? Hunith's boy?" asked Gaius turning around on the step stool.

In that instant, Gaius lost his balance, and began to topple over. Merlin panicked and did the first thing he could think of; he slowed down time. Merlin never knew how he managed to do magic, only that it happened when he was nervous, panicky, angry, or felt any other strong emotion. Nobody outside the family knew, his mum made sure of it. Well Lance knew, of course, but he was around so often that he hardly counted as an outsider. Merlin rushed to Gaius' side and steadied him before he could hit the ground.

Gaius looked and him in wonder and asked,

"My dear boy, how on earth did you manage that?"

"Manage what?" said Merlin, trying to act innocent.

Gaius stared at him "Why, managed to catch me of course!"

"I'm stronger than I look." said Merlin deliberately misunderstanding.

"Don't play dumb with me, boy. I saw you standing at the door before I fell. There is no possible way you could have reached me before I hit the ground"

Merlin sighed "I have, well I'm not sure what you'd call it really. I think the best word for it is magic."

"Magic?" asked Gaius raising an incredulous eyebrow

"I know it sounds far-fetched, but there doesn't seem to be another explanation."

Gaius stared him down and finally said "Well it was no accident that your mother sent you to me, Merlin. I happen to have friends who have 'magic'"

"What? Really?" asked Merlin. All his life he had thought that he was just some evolutionary oddity, a freak of nature.

"I worked with a few trusted friends at my old university, interviewing and studying others who were born with your… abilities. Don't worry, my boy, I will keep your secret. In fact, I may be able to offer you some help in honing your skills. Now Hunith tells me that you have an affinity for numbers, let's put you to work, shall we?"

Merlin blinked at the abrupt change of subject, and was ushered out of the backroom so quickly that he was unable to voice his questions; mainly "_You can help me understand my abilities?_"

Gaius put him in front of the till and said "Let's see what you can do. Supposing a customer comes in and buys a box of Maltesers, a bottle of Pepsi, a stuffed dog and a vase of orchids, what would he pay?"

Merlin looked at the prices for the various items. He thought for a bit and said "The total price would come to £32.28." he said, having added the numbers in less than a minute.

Giaus beamed and said "Oh, you will do fine here. Now, I need you to make a delivery, just this vase of flowers. It will need to be delivered to a Mr. Eric Donovan in room 231-A. The lift is right at the end of the corridor. Make sure he signs for them. Now run along." He handed Merlin a vase of flowers, a receipt, and a pen and practically shoved him out the door.

Merlin made it to the lift without a problem, but once he was on the second floor, he realized that he had absolutely no idea where he was going. He tried to follow the signs but they lead him down a maze of seemingly endless corridors. Just as he was about to give it up for a lost cause, He caught a glimpse of a Camelot Volunteer shirt. Coming out of some sort of storage cupboard was a tall, athletic blonde boy. Merlin had to admit that he was gorgeous, which is probably why, in his attempt to get to the other boy, Merlin tripped over his own feet and landed unceremoniously on the hospital floor. It was a stroke of luck (and maybe a little something extra) that the vase of flowers didn't spill or shatter. The blonde boy looked down at him in disdain, not even attempting to help him up. Merlin pushed himself to his feet blushing and said "Hey mate-"

"I'm sorry, have we met?" asked the boy in a polished, private school accent.

"What? No." said Merlin

"Then why did you call me 'mate'? I am not your 'mate'." Replied the boy (Arthur, according to his name tag) with a sneer

"My mistake." said Merlin frostily

"Is there an actual reason you're standing in the middle of the corridor like a lump?" asked Arthur

"I was just wondering if you could point me in the direction of room 231-A" asked Merlin, refusing to be deterred from his quest.

The boy- no Arthur- smirked. "It's down the hall, take your first left and keep going, then make a right."

"Thanks" said Merlin, glad to be rid of the blonde. He may have the physique of an Adonis, but he was an absolute arse.

Merlin followed Arthur's instructions, but found himself even more hopelessly lost. Eventually, he ended up in a dead end corridor. He was standing there, confused, when a nurse happened to find him.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where room 231-A is?" he asked

"First day?" asked the nurse "Don't worry, everyone gets lost in the beginning." She smiled at him kindly "Unfortunately, you're in the wrong part of the hospital. Make your way back to the nurse's station and take the third corridor to the left. It will be the second door on the left."

"Thank you" said Merlin with relief.

Following the nurse's directions, Merlin found the right room at last. He presented an ecstatic Mr. Donovan with the flowers, acquired his signature, and made it back to the lift with no further mishaps. However, Merlin was going to have to watch out for that Arthur bloke. Gorgeous or not, if he saw him again, his magic might have something to say about the wild goose chase Arthur led him on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary:**

**Merlin runs into an unwelcome face in the canteen. Oh and he meets some awesome new friends as well!**

_**A/N- Thank you again to my awesome beta, 213Serendipity (She's on tumblr guys, *hint hint*) and my britpicker, Desuke-dragonqueen (also on tumblr)**_

**Chapter 2: Dinner**

"Now dear, do you have this watch in red?"

Merlin grit his teeth and tried to calm his magic, which was starting to act up, if the nearly imperceptible rattling of the drinks was anything to go by. He took a deep breath and turned to face the elderly lady standing in front of the counter.

"No ma'am, we only have the black ones in stock."

"That's a pity; it would have looked so lovely on my daughter's wrist if it had been in red. I suppose I'll have to keep looking then."

Merlin stifled a groan. "Take as long as you need ma'am."

After the delivery fiasco, Merlin had made it back to the shop. When Gaius had inquired about the lengthiness of his trip, Merlin had regaled him with the story (minus one incredibly pompous arse). Gaius had then given him a plethora of menial tasks to do, such as dusting and stocking some of the merchandise, before finally allowing Merlin to help with a customer. The first few customers were nurses, looking for their sugar fix, and were easy enough to handle. After successfully dealing with the first influx of customers, Gaius had deemed him ready to mind the till on his own, and Merlin was determined not to muck it up. However it seemed that their latest client was going to make it very difficult.

Mrs. Wesley was quite a perfectionist, it seemed. She had been in the store for nearly half an hour (which in itself was quite a feat because the shop was remarkably tiny) and had still not decided on a gift for her daughter (who, apparently, had just had a baby, and oh isn't he the most beautiful child, look here's a photo). During this time, she had asked to smell 5 different kinds of perfume, asked to see three purses (in colors that, Merlin was fairly sure, didn't exist), and pressed the demo button on every single one of the musical stuffed animals. Merlin, needless to say, was starting to get irritated, and he could swear that Gaius was chuckling from the back room, where he was hidi- erm doing inventory. Finally, Mrs. Wesley decided on a giant teddy bear and a vase of flowers. Merlin sighed in relief, and quickly rung her up before she had the chance to change her mind.

As Mrs. Wesley was doddering out of the shop, Gwaine sauntered in, customary energy drink in hand. Gwaine is a bit… hyperactive, a fact is not helped at all by his addiction to energy drinks.

"Well, if it isn't my good friend, Merlin." said Gwaine with a grin "How is life treating you this fine day?"

"What do you want Gwaine?" said Merlin, knowing that Gwaine's small talk was just a segway to some ulterior demand.

"Well you see, I'm in a bit of a dilemma. Your little shopis the only one that sells Green Knight energy, but as it happens, I'm a couple of quid short."

"So it is my duty as a good friend to lend you the rest of the money." said Merlin rolling his eyes. He knew this speech by heart.

"Exactly!" said Gwaine with a broad grin.

"Well here you go then." said Merlin handing over the cash.

"Thanks mate! Erm- how much do I owe you?"

"This week?" asked Merlin "12 pounds"

"I get paid tomorrow, if that's any consolation."

"Just buy your drink Gwaine" said Merlin, knowing that he probably wasn't getting his money anytime soon.

He rung Gwaine up, and as he was leaving the roguish boy said "Oh and Lance asked me to let you know that dinner is at 5:30"

"I'll be there." said Merlin

Gwaine grinned at Merlin, and nodded at Gaius, who had chosen that exact moment to come out of hiding. "A friend of yours?" he asked.

"Unfortunately" said Merlin with a smile.

"Well, dinner is in 15 minutes, so why don't you stock some of the drinksuntil then?"

Merlin obliged. Fifteen minutes later, the drinkswere all stocked, and Merlin was ready to go to dinner. Remembering the exuberant receptionist's instructions, he made his way towards the canteen.

Entering the canteen, Merlin realized with a start that though he couldn't find any of his friends, there were an immense amount of volunteers at the hospital. Everywhere he turned, there was a bright red shirt. Merlin smiled, suddenly, the hospital wasn't as intimidating. He checked his pockets to make sure that he had his meal ticket, and entered the kitchen.

"What will you have?" asked the man behind the counter.

"Um… I'm going to need a minute." said Merlin studying the menu.

There was a plethora of delicious food, from fish to hamburgers, to curry. Merlin turned back to the man and said

"I'll have the-"

"I'll have the usual David" cut in an irritatingly familiar voice

Merlin whirled around. "You." He spat.

"Oh, found your way to the room then?" asked Arthur-the-Arse with a smirk.

"Yeah, no thanks to you." Merlin was seething

"Well a little exercise never hurt anyone."

"Yeah, well you would know, wouldn't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean, Big Ears?"

"OI! Who are you calling Big Ears, you prat!"

Merlin was seething. He could feel his magic growing inside him, itching to lash out at the pompous git in front of him. Just as he was about to act on the impulse, consequences be damned, he felt a warning hand on his shoulder. Lance, who always seemed to know when Merlin was getting himself into trouble, had appeared at his side and shot him a warning look. Gwaine was at Merlin's other side, and shot him an easy grin. Though he knew nothing of Merlin's magic, Gwaine could sense that a fight was imminent and was ready to give his friend a hand. Percival, who was behind Gwaine, gave Merlin a reassuring look.

"Hey mate" said Lance, even his tone had a note of warning "What's going on?"

Merlin rolled his eyes at Lance's over protectiveness "Nothing, absolutely nothing"

"So Merlin, you know what you're having yet?" asked Gwaine

Merlin's response was yet again cut off by Arthur. "Merlin? Your name is actually Merlin?" he asked with a snicker.

"Is there a problem?" asked Percy, his low voice vaguely threatening.

Arthur was spared having to answer by the man behind the counter (David, apparently) telling him that his food was ready. Arthur took his hamburger and left the room.

"I had it under control!" muttered Merlin.

"Yeah, we could tell" said Gwaine with a grin.

"Shut up Gwaine" said Merlin, blushing

"What were you thinking Mer?" asked Lance when Gwaine and Percy went to get their drinks.

"I wasn't" said Merlin

"I could tell! Picking a fight with Arthur Pendragon! I mean seriously!"

"Wait that was Arthur_ Pendragon_? As in the son of Uther Pendragon?" Uther Pendragon was the Chairman of Camelot Medical Center, and was a very powerful man.

"No, it was Arthur Pendragon, son of the head caretaker. Of course He's the son of the Chairman! What did he do to piss you off that badly anyway?"

"He was being a git and just an awful person, and I don't like that, no matter how gorgeous he is." Merlin clamped his hand over his mouth as his eyes widened. He hadn't meant to say that.

"What?" asked Lance incredulously "Oh god Merlin, please tell me you didn't fall for another pretentious twat."

"I'll tell you later" muttered Merlin, as Gwaine and Percy made their way back.

Merlin ordered his Curry, and waited for his friends. After checking out, Lance threw his arm around Merlin's shoulders and guided him towards a table.

"Everyone this is Merlin, Merlin, Everyone."

"You're going to need to be more specific Lance." said Merlin with an easy grin "Oh, hi Freya"

Freya was a beautiful girl, if a little shy, and she and Merlin had dated a while, until Merlin had realized that he preferred blokes. Freya took it quite well, and the two still remained friends.

"Hey Merlin. How's the boyfriend?" The other girl, who was stealing glances at Lance, jumped at this casual revelation of Merlin's sexuality. Merlin ignored her.

"Broke up, he was an absolute arse"

"That lasted what, a week?"

"Week and a half." Merlin replied glumly

"Don't worry, plenty of other fish in the sea." said Freya.

"Yeah" he said with a small, slightly sheepish grin, sharing a quick look with Lance. The other girl seemed to slump as she saw this.

"Anyway, since Lance did an absolute rubbish job of introducing you, this is Guinevere, though she goes by Gwen." She gestured to the girl who had jumped earlier. She had a kind face, curly hair and deep brown eyes. She smiled, albeit a bit sadly at Merlin.

"And you know her brother, Elyan, from school, right?" the boy in question nodded at Merlin.

"Nice to meet you all." said Merlin.

Dinner was pleasant. Though a little awkward at first, they soon loosened up, telling jokes and sharing stories. Merlin had fun, though he wondered a bit about Gwen, who kept shooting sad glances at him and Lance, especially when Lance would bump into his arm or ruffle his hair (something Lance knew he hated). Finally the reason for her apparent discomfort was made clear.

"Okay, I have to ask" said Gwen while Lance, Elyan, and Gwaine had gotten up to throw out everyone's trash "Are you and Lance a couple?"

Merlin made a disgusted face "Ugh! Absolutely not, Lance is practically my brother."

"Oh, well I thought, you know, considered how touchy-feely you two are"

"No, no, no. Absolutely Not. Never in a million years. Both Lance and I are still painfully single."

"Oh that's great! I mean it's not great that you're single, that's really sad. I mean, it's sad for you, not sad as in pathetic. But it's great Lance isn't going out with you, I mean not that it would be bad for Lance to go out with you, but I'm glad he's… not." She finished lamely.

"Guinevere" asked Merlin with a sly smile "do you like my almost brother"

"Of course I like him, everybody likes him" said Gwen, pretending to misunderstand

"I mean, do you have a crush on Lance?" said Merlin, being more direct.

Gwen's blush was answer enough. Merlin grinned "You should ask him out, you know, female empowerment and all."

"But what if he doesn't like me?"

"Only one way to find out, right?"

The conversation ended abruptly as Lance and the others returned, signalling the end of dinner. Merlin had had such a good time that he had forgotten all about his argument with Arthur, and didn't notice a pair of blue eyes watching him from afar.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: The road so far, from the POV of everyone's favorite clot-pole**

_**A/N- Once again, beta'd by my good friend 213serendipity (You should follow her on tumblr). Seriously, she's great. I told her "You need to beta this. fair warning, I wrote it at 4 in the morning, so excuse the spelling, grammar, and plot", and she took the jumble of words produced by my befuddled, sleep-deprived brain and made hem a bit more coherent. Britpicked once again by Desuke-dragonqueen (You should follow her too).**_

**Chapter 3: Arthur's Side of the Story**

Arthur Pendragon was sick and tired of being Arthur Pendragon. He knew he should be grateful that his father had such a high-ranking (read well paying) job, and that he was never in want of anything. Yeah, he should be grateful, but honestly he was just tired. Tired of the secondhand fame he got for being his father's son. Tired of his father, actually, the man who all but abandoned him and his sister Morgana after his mother died, and who felt that surrounding his children with _things _made up for his absence. Sure, that may have worked when he was younger, but now all he craved was his father's attention, and approval. And to top it all off, his father was actually going mad. He should have seen it coming actually, seeing as all of Uther's time was spent at his bloody hospital. But it finally happened, Uther Pendragon had cracked. Arthur remembered that conversation vividly.

_Uther had called him into his study, which was surprising because even now, the study was off-limits to the kids._

"_Yes father, you summoned- erm I mean called?"_

"_Arthur my boy, what I'm about to tell you will shift your entire perspective of the world"_

"_Oh?"_

"_There is a terrible Evil in this world, Arthur"_

_Arthur quirked his eyebrow._

"_Yes father?"_

"_Magic"_

_Arthur spluttered "What?"  
>"Magic. Even in today's modern age, sorcerers hide amongst us."<em>

"_Father, are you quite alright?"_

"_You don't believe me?"_

"_Well…" Arthur tried to phrase his words carefully "it does seem a it far fetched"_

"_But true none the less. They are a dangerous people, these sorcerers. The government's been trying to hunt them down, but they still run amuck."_

_And that's when he showed Arthur the video. There was a young man, Thomas something-or-another, he couldn't remember his last name, being executed. Actually executed. Then there was a howl, like an injured animal. An old woman, the man's mother was screaming, vowing revenge. Uther turned off the video._

"_It is the responsibility" said Uther "of you and your sister to help defeat this great evil"_

"_Why?" Arthur whispered, still shaken from the video_

"_Because it was magic which killed your mother"_

_Arthur and Morgana had discussed this little incident later at night, when they were supposed to be in bed, and had come to one definite conclusion: Father has gone mad._

Arthur was thinking of this conversation while on his shift at the hospital. This whole "magic" thing, in addition to the strain of being the so-called golden boy of the hospital staff (He didn't even actually work there dammit) was making him sullen and resentful. Then, just to make things worse, as he was exiting a supply cupboard on the second floor, he saw a boy with fantastically large ears running towards him. "_Oh damn, he recognized me_" he thought. As he was debating heading right back into the cupboard, the boy fell, landing on his rear in front of him. Now, instead of being humiliated, and slinking off, like a decent human being, this boy had the nerve to continue to walk up to him, and call him "_mate_". Even after Arthur corrected him on that point, the boy, actually pretended not t know who he was (he must have been pretending, everyone in the bloody place knew exactly who he was) and asked him for directions (probably so he could boast to his friends that he got to talk to _THE_ _Arthur Pendragon_). So Arthur decided to have a little fun, and sent him in the wrong direction.

He had figured that would be the last he would see of the boy, who, no doubt, would be so utterly humiliated, that he wouldn't approach him again. But then, at the canteen, who should be waiting in line, but Big Ears himself. "_Is he following me?"_ he wondered. Arthur decided to see the effect of his little joke, and interrupted the boy by asking David for his usual order, just to make his presence known. Again, the boy surprised him. Instead of being cowed, or pretending not to recognize him, he actually confronted him, as though it was _Arthur's _fault that the idiot couldn't take a hint. Just when he was sure, it was going to come to blows (not that he was frightened, mind you, he could easily take on the scrawny kid) they were interrupted by a couple of other boys, friends of Big Ears, it seemed. And that was how he found out that Big Ears had a name, a name so ridiculous that Arthur had to comment. "_Merlin? Your name is actually Merlin?" _"Merlin" had glowered at him, and though Arthur could have easily taken him on, he wasn't willing to fight his friends (at least not without Leon and maybe Kay for back up). David had chosen that moment to serve Arthur, and Arthur, gratefully, took the opportunity to escape.

Arthur couldn't focus on Dinner at all that night. He kept focusing in and out of the conversation, vaguely taking in something Elena was saying about a cute new boy in transport. He was shaken out of his revere by Morgana, who bumped him slightly while settling in between Leon and himself.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked

"It's that bloke over there."

"Oh? The one with the unfortunate ears? Harboring a little crush, are we?"

"What!? No! Nothing like that!" He spluttered, turning scarlet.

"Then?"

"I don't know," he said, following Merlin with his eyes "There's something about him, I just can't put my finger on it."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: Merlin Meets the batty old man in room 312**

_**A/N- Once again Beta'd by the lovely 213serendipity, and britpicked by the equally lovely Desuke-Dragonqueen**_

**Chapter 4: Mr. Kilgarrah**

Merlin was pretty sure that being harassed by the batty old man in room 312 was not in his job description. It was his second day at Camelot Med, and he had already become more comfortable with the layout of the hospital. It was during one of his delivery runs, that he ended up in the hospice center, and met Mr. Kilgarrah.

He was just passing by room 312 when he heard a chores voice call out "Merlin."

and he froze, looking around, but he could hear nothing.

"MERLIN!" came another shout, and he froze again, then looked into the nearest room, which, at first glance, appeared empty.

"Hello?" he called, tentatively stepping inside. He heard a laugh, which turned into a wheezy cough. "Where are you?" he called out, to the room at large.

A wizened old man in a wheelchair rolled out from behind the door, and said "I'm here… you're a bit smaller than I had expected, especially for a person with such a great destiny"

Merlin spluttered "Destiny? What destiny? How do you even know my name?"

The old man laughed. "I am Mr. Kilgarrah, and I know your name, as I know your destiny."

"Well that was incredibly unhelpful. Would you at least tell me what this great destiny is?"

"Your powers, Merlin… they were given to you for a reason, you know."

"How did you… never mind. Would you care to elaborate on that?" Merlin was getting more and more frustrated as the conversation went on.

"Arthur Pendragon." said Kilgarrah, simply.

"What, you mean Prince Prat? What do I have to do with him?"

"His destiny is almost as great as yours, and with your help, he will bring magic back into the land."

"You're joking. Look, there must be another Arthur, because this one's an absolute wanker."

"Well maybe it's up to you to change that"

Merlin snorted. "Even if I did believe you, how would I help him, he hates me! Not to mention the fact that he's 17. How is he supposed to bring magic back?"

"With your help, and your powers, he _will_ bring magic back. He is the son of Uther Pendragon-"

"Exactly, he is the son of the man who is leading the magic extermination campaign." After he had found out that he wasn't unique in his abilities, Merlin had done a bit of research.

"Nevertheless," continued Kilgarrah, shooting Merlin an irritated look "He will have a lot of influence in this world, and it is up to you to make sure that his influence is a good one. Now, I believe your supervisor will be expecting you."

And with that, he ushered Merlin out of the door, ignoring his protests, and slammed it behind him, leaving Merlin alone with his thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary: Merlin stumbles upon the beautiful, and, incedentally, absolutely terrifying Morgana Pendragon**

_**A/N- Beta'd, of course, by my good friend and sounding board, 213serendipity  
>Britpicked by the wonderful Desuke-dragonqueen<strong>_

**Chapter 5: Meeting Morgana**

Merlin returned from Kilgarrah's room confused and more than a little irritated, only to find Gaius waiting for him with another delivery.

"Another one?" he asked, incredulously. "Not that I mind," he continued hurriedly when Gaius quirked an eyebrow.

"This one goes to the rehabilitation gym. Give it to Morgana, she's a volunteer as well, she'll know what to do with it." And with those somewhat cryptic instructions, he pushed a colorful, bejeweled basket filled with a particularly atrocious selection of purple and orange flowers into Merlin's hands. Tied to the handle of the basket was a bright yellow, smiley face balloon. The whole ensemble looked as though it was put together by a colorblind madman- or a six year old. It could have been either really.

Merlin reluctantly took the basket and made his way to the gym. He knew Gwen worked there, and if he was lucky, he might be able to talk with her a bit. When he got to the gym, there was no sign of Gwen. Instead, his eyes landed on a tall, dangerously beautiful girl, with jet black hair tied in a ponytail. He could see her face reflected in the mirror, which took up the entire wall in front of her, and she seemed engrossed in wiping down a set of colorful dumbbells. He had no idea whether this was the Morgana he was supposed to give the flowers to. She must have heard him come in because she said, without turning around "Ah, Gwen, you and Elena are back, then? Could one of you hand me a new box of wipes? I'm almost out." Not knowing what to do, he grabbed the nearest box of wet wipes and walked towards her. As he approached her, he bumped into one of the beds, letting loose a stream of muffled curses. The girl's head snapped up, sharp grey eyes meeting his blue ones in the mirror. She turned to face him, and stared at him for a while. The balloon thumped steadily against a concrete pillar.

"You're not Gwen." She said matter-of-factly. "Or Elena." She gave him a slightly amused smirk, and her eyes glinted mischievously. Merlin gulped.

"Um no." he wanted to kick himself for the squeak that was clearly audible. "I'm Merlin."

Her smile grew a bit wider. "Morgana," she said holding out her hand. "Charmed. You're the new boy who shouted at my brother in the canteen, right?"

Merlin gulped again, backing away slowly. The balloon smiled serenely down at him, mocking his plight.

"Yeah, um, I didn't mean to blow up at him, I was just angry and…" He trailed off, glancing at the door, and calculated his chances of making it out alive if he decided to leg it. It didn't look promising.

"Oh, relax sweetie, I love my brother dearly, but I'll be the first to admit that he needs to be taken down a peg now and then. Now, let's talk about you." The smile had reached terrifying proportions, and just when Merlin thought he was done for, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Merlin?"

"Gwen!" He nearly fainted with relief.

Gwen had entered the room, accompanied by a tall blonde girl who shot him a reassuring smile, and then proceeded to nearly trip over the edge of a ramp. She righted herself and turned towards Morgana.

"Scaring the new kid already Morgs?" she asked with a cheerful grin.

Morgana just laughed in response, ending her cross-questioning. A fact for which Merlin was immensely grateful. Gwen turned to Merlin and asked "what are you doing here Merlin?"

He stared at her blankly for a few seconds before saying "oh, yeah, I was supposed to deliver this." He thrust the basket into Morgana's hands, and handed her the receipt so she could sign for it. Morgana wrinkled her nose and placed the basket on a table, but smiled as she said "looks like Mr. Johnson's grandchildren sent him his weekly gift then," as she signed the piece of paper. As she handed the receipt back, she said "I do hope I'll see you soon, Merlin, we can continue our little chat."

"Erm, yeah," stammered Merlin, taking the receipt and nearly running out of the gym, ignoring the laughter of the three girls behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary: Morgana's view of the whole situation**

_**A/N- This one's a bit short... sorry! Once again a huge thank you to my beta: 213serendipity and my britpicker: desuke-dragonqueen! Follow them on tumblr guys!**_

**Chapter 6: Morgana**

Growing up, Morgana knew she wasn't part of a conventional family. Vivienne(she refused to call her 'mother'; she didn't deserve the title) had run away with Uther's ex-business partner, taking half of his money with him and leaving her six month old daughter behind, never even calling except to try and squeeze a few more pounds from Uther's pocket.

Then, a year and a half later, Uther had married Ygraine, who was everything Vivienne wasn't. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a lovely singing voice; Morgana had adored her. At two years old, Morgana became an older sister. Despite her fears that she would be forgotten in the wake of the new baby, the moment she set her eyes on little Arthur, she was in awe. For years everything was perfect - to this day, Morgana had vague memories of Uther _smiling__ - _and then the nightmares started.

Nearly every night she'd dream, brief flashes of Ygraine lying pale faced in a bed, condition steadily worsening. Always the same, she'd wake up screaming for Ygraine, and cling to her, though she was seven years old and only babies cried for their mothers. Ygraine was diagnosed within the next few months, and when Morgana was eight and Arthur six, Ygraine passed away. The doctors had said that cancer was their best guess, but even they weren't sure. That was the day Uther stopped smiling.

The loss of Ygraine broke him; he shut himself away, and distanced himself from them. Distanced himself from _Arthur_, who, with his blond hair and blue eyes, was a painful reminder of the woman he had lost. Morgana could never forgive him for that, especially when she was the one who had to comfort the little boy who desperately missed his mother. They had settled into some sort of routine in the following months, with the two children essentially taking care of themselves, with the occasional help of a string of nannies, whom both of them hated. They didn't have many friends; just Leon, and eventually Elena, because not many people wanted to be friends with 'those Pendragon children', either out of awe or contempt. Uther was still a constant presence, but aside from insisting they helped out at his hospital, he didn't concern himself too much in their affairs. Until now.

When Uther had called her into his study and gave her a lecture on _magic _of all things, all she could really think was 't_hank __G__od he told me before he told Arthur__'_. The last thing the boy needed was his first real interaction with his father in ten years to be a mad rant about something out of a fantasy novel. She knew it was real of course, figured it out years ago, when she realized that her nightmares were actually coming true, but Uther didn't need to know that. She had nodded gravely, and later dismissed the incident as madness with Arthur.

When Arthur had told her about the "irritating idiot with the too-big ears" Morgana's curiosity was piqued. She knew her brother well enough to know that he was intrigued. She wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing. It wasn't until weeks later that she met the mysterious Merlin. The boy was awkward and bumbling, but kind of adorable, and when she looked at him, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was special. She just knew that for some reason, Merlin Emrys would become a very important person in her life.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary: Life goes on and a concert is announced**

_**A/N- As always, Beta'd by 213serendipity and britpicked by desuke-dragonqueen. Excuse the formatting, it's a little meh.**_

**Chapter 7: Lady Helen**

Gaius?" Merlin called into the backroom "I'm headed off for dinner, would you like anything?"

"Nothing Merlin, go right ahead"

Merlin slipped out from behind the counter and headed towards the cafeteria, hands in his pockets, whistling. As he turned the corner, he stopped short.

"What the hell is this?" he muttered. There was a sort of bottleneck at the door, a sea of red shirts surrounded it, blocking his entrance. He looked around, trying to spot one of his friends, and caught sight of Gwen and Lance a little off to the side. Elbowing his way through the crowd, he made his way towards them.

"What the hell is this?" he repeated. Lance just pointed at a bright notice on the wall. As Merlin read it, his jaw dropped.

"Lady Helen?" he asked incredulously "As in _the_ Lady Helen? _The internationally renowned pop-star_ Lady Helen?"

"I _know_!" squealed Gwen "Isn't it exciting?"

Merlin chuckled, then frowned as his stomach growled. "Any idea how we're supposed to get inside?"

"Um.."

They were saved the trouble of trying to get through the crowd by the appearance of Gwaine and Percival, dragging Freya along, Percival with an air of amused resignation. Elyan followed behind silently grinning.

"See Frey, I _told _you, didn't I?" crowed Gwaine pointing triumphantly at the poster.

"Huh, so Lady Helen's doing a benefit concert at the hospital?"

"You missed the part where it says that volunteers get free entry."

Freya turned to Merlin and rolled her eyes "Alright Gwaine, you were right, now can we _please_ get something to eat? I missed lunch."

"All right all right, keep your shirt on… or take it off, if you're more comfortable that way" Gwaine waggled his eyebrows, and then grunted as Freya neatly jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow. Hard. "Sorry! Perce, can you get us through?"

Percival began to push his way through the crowd and the others followed along in the large boy's wake. They made it through the lunch line chattering to each other. They bumped into Arthur, but aside from a snide "Hello Dumbo" (and Merlin almost felt sorry for the bloke if that was the best he could come up with) he ignored them. Merlin had just rolled his eyes, and tried to ignore the telling swoop of his stomach. As they made their way to their usual table, Merlin studiously ignored Arthur's table. He told himself that it was because he was, frankly, terrified of Morgana, and that it had nothing to do with the fact that Arthur was sitting and laughing with his friends.

They settled in at the table, talking excitedly about the upcoming concert.

"D'you think she'll give me her autograph?" asked Gwen

"If you can make it past her security" said Freya nonchalantly "Don't worry though Gwen, I'll hold 'em off while you make a break for it"

Gwen threw her head back and laughed. Merlin had to move his potatoes before Lance put his elbow in them as he watched her with a ridiculously soppy look on his face.

"Well" said Gwaine "She's hot. Like, actually smoking." He looked around thoughtfully "I'll bet if I can get past her security, I can ask her out. Perce'll hold 'em back for me, won't you Perce?"

"Nope" said the other boy, popping the p as he sipped his cola.

Gwaine threw a napkin at him as the others laughed at the put upon look on the boys face.

_Stopping for the night was the sensible thing to do, Helen knew, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong. "Get a grip, Helen" she muttered to herself "It's a five star hotel for crying out loud, not a seedy motel. You'll be fine" She hummed to herself as she got ready for bed. There was a creak outside the door. She froze. "Is anyone there?" No answer. She shook herself "you're being ridiculous" she muttered, turning to her mirror and picking up her comb. There was another creak. Helen put down the comb and headed to the door. Ignoring every self preservation instinct inside her, she poked her head outside the door. Nothing. She sighed in relief, shut the door, and turned around, finding her self face to face with an old lady with wild hair and tortured eyes, and found, to her horror, that she couldn't speak. The woman smiled at her before plunging a silver knife into her heart, and Helen let out a soundless scream. The woman watched as she slumped to the ground. Her eyes glowed, as she slowly took on the features of the dead woman in front of her. Uther Pendragon had killed her boy. She would have her revenge. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son. Arthur Pendragon was going to die. _


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary: With all the members of the hospital together for Lady Helen's concert, things are about to get... interesting**

_**A/N- I finally managed to sit down and finish this fic. That's right, this is the last ever chapter of Volunteers and Destiny. But do not despair my fair readers, for I have plans for more stories within this series... if you want them of course. As always, thanks to 213serendipity and Desuke-dragonqueen, I couldn't have done this without you guys.**_

**Chapter 8: The Concert**

When Merlin had sat through volunteer orientation, he had thought, what sort of hospital has a concert hall? Looking around at the turn out, he had to admit, the concert hall was definitely coming in handy, though the chandelier was a bit much.

The room was filled with excited chatter as people milled about. He could see Gwaine and Percy laughing with Freya and the blonde girl from the rehab center. Gwaine had a small mountain of mini sausages piled on his plate, and was bouncing slightly, though whether from anticipation of the concert or a buzz from an energy drink Merlin wasn't sure. Lance and Gwen were standing by the drinks table; he was probably trying to flirt, judging from the all the blushing from both parties. Elyan had been shooting them suspicious glares from where he was talking to Leon, a boy who worked at Central Supply, and broke away from the conversation to head towards them, probably to question Lance about his intentions or something equally ridiculous.

He caught a glimpse of blond hair and turned to see Arthur standing stiffly, talking to a graying, distinguished looking man who must be Uther. Arthur was wearing a red t-shirt which had a faded white crown emblazoned on the front, and a pair of dark blue jeans. Merlin found himself staring at him and quickly looked away, only to catch the eye of Morgana, who was standing to Arthur's right. She smirked at him, making Merlin blush and head over to try and rescue Lance.

A few minutes later, the sound of feedback reverberated through the room, and Uther Pendragon took the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce the charming Lady Helen."

The hall exploded into loud applause and cheering as a demure brunette in a shimmering gold dress took the stage. Merlin could hear Elyan let out a soft whistle.

"What a magnificent turn out!" she smiled. "Now, are you ready?"

The answering cheer was deafening.

"Alright then. We're going to start the night off with something slow." She paused for a moment. "Now come on, don't look like that; I promise, there'll be enough excitement later in the night."

And with that, she began to sing. A soft, slow, haunting melody, each syllable conveying heartbreak and devastation. Something about the words and the tune made Merlin's magic stir within him, like a restless animal.

He turned to Lance to remark about it, when he saw his best friend's head drooping, his eyes closed. Gwen and Elyan next to him were in a similar position. A quick glance to his left confirmed that Gwaine and Percy were also asleep.

Suddenly it clicked, and Merlin stuffed his fingers into his ears to drown out the music, shrinking back into the crowd. Cobwebs had begun to form around the sleeping revelers as Lady Helen made her way off the stage and through the crowd, walking steadily towards where the Pendragons were seated; where Arthur was seated.

Something within him snapped, and Merlin instinctively sent out a burst of magic. There was a creak and a groan, followed by a tremendous crash as the chandelier fell from the ceiling, trapping Lady Helen underneath.

Merlin watched as her beautiful features twisted, and before him lay an ugly old hag. All around him, the people began to stir. Merlin was at Lance's side at once, shaking him awake properly, and was about to explain what had just happened, when he heard a terrible shriek. All eyes went to the hag on the floor. Merlin heard Gwaine let out a hoarse "bloody hell". The woman had managed to produce a knife from God knows where, and the audience watched, dumbstruck, and she hurled it towards Arthur, who looked shell-shocked, and seemed to be mouthing "It's real".

Merlin didn't even think as he reached out with his magic and slowed time. He rushed at the other boy, tackling him to the ground. As the two hit the floor, time sped up again, and the knife whistled past their heads. The woman let out a groan, and fell unconscious. The sound seemed to snap Arthur out of his stupor, and he shoved Merlin off of him, grunting an impatient "get off me." Both boys stood as gasps and panicked mutters filled the room. No one could explain how Lady Helen had turned into the old woman, but it didn't stop them from trying.

"They drugged the drinks."

"Maybe it's a publicity stunt?"

"Maybe it's magic!"

"Don't be stupid Kathy, there's no such thing as magic."

There were a few rushed words between Uther Pendragon and some men in charcoal gray suits. The men nodded and dragged the woman's body away. Merlin watched in apprehension as Uther gave his orders, wondering if his own magic was picked up by the Pendragon patriarch. He was so lost in thought, that he found himself jumping as he was clapped on the back by the man in question.

"You saved my son," he said quietly.

Merlin blushed slightly. "Yeah, well…."

"For that, you must be rewarded."

"Oh no, I couldn't, really…"

"Nonsense. What's your name, boy?"

"Merlin Emrys, Sir."

"You're the maths prodigy, aren't you?"

"Yes sir."

"Well that settles it; you will be the new tutor."

"I'm sorry?"

"Arthur's new maths tutor. The boy is absolutely abysmal at the subject. You will be compensated, of course."

Merlin's expression of shock and vague horror was mirrored on Arthur's face. His protest of "really sir, I couldn't!" was nearly drowned out by Arthur's indignant hiss of 'Father!'

"I'll expect you to be meeting twice a week" continued Uther, completely ignoring both their protests, and walked away, leaving Merlin staring at him, open mouthed.

He felt a prickle at the back of his neck, and turned around to face a glowering Arthur. Merlin just blinked at the blond, who made a noise of disgust and stalked away, leaving Merlin to wander off to find Lance. He explained the situation to the other boy, who looked as shocked as Merlin felt.

"And I'm still not clear on what just happened."

"I believe you just got drafted."

"What the- Morgana have you been there this whole time?"

The girl smirked at him. "Well Merlin, I think we'll be seeing each other a lot more often." She turned so that her skirt flared dramatically around her knees and sauntered off, leaving the boys staring after her.

"Well," said Lance, shaking his head, as though trying to clear it. "Look on the bright side."

"There's a bright side?"

"You'll get to spend some quality time with Pendragon Jr," said Lance with a wicked grin.

Merlin groaned and placed his head in his hands. He needed new friends.


End file.
